by Mark Delaney | Jun 14, 2018 | Blogs we love, Gardening Posts, Gardening Tips
Make the most of these tried and tested tips from experienced gardeners.
Image source: welcomia
A great way to get the most from your garden is to follow the advice and guidance of generous gardeners who’ve already been there and done it. Here we bring you some top growing tips from expert gardeners and bloggers – green fingered folk who know their onions.
Enjoy it!
Don’t forget the wildlife that helps your garden look so spectacular.
Image source: The Forgotten Garden
Rule number one from Patricia from The Forgotten Garden in North Devon is simply to relax and enjoy what you’re doing: “Don’t spend time focussing on what you can’t do, just focus on what you can, with an eye on the wildlife that shares the garden with you.”
Although it must be said that Patricia, in a true modest gardener way, would never describe herself as an expert. She rightly points out that all gardeners are “learning as we go, and enquiring minds discovering more!”
Another horticulturist with a laissez-faire attitude is professional gardener, Judi of Judi Samuels Garden Design who sees many clients over-pruning shrubs to force them to conform to a particular space in the garden. Instead, she advises growers not to impose their will onto a plant, but rather, “allow it to be what it knows it is.” She says:
“Part of my life’s work is teaching clients about right plant, right place – celebrating the form of a plant and allowing it to be.
In the same vein, Mike at Flighty’s Plot is all about “enjoying what you do”, which for him involves giving yourself the space to simply try things to see what happens without putting yourself under too much pressure to succeed every time.
Less is more
A plate full of edible “weeds” can result when a section of garden is left to its own devices.
Image source: Totally Wild
Why not let the earth itself tell you what it wants to grow? Says James of Totally Wild. He recommends leaving a 2m square patch of soil bare so that “so-called” weeds can fill it:
“Once you know what grows there, discover what you can do with it. The nettles are edible, the dandelions can make coffee, the chickweed a salad, and ground elder is fantastic wilted.”
And don’t bite off more than you can chew says Jono of Real Men Sow: “Even if you are lucky enough to get a full size plot, don’t feel pressurised to use it all.” Keeping things small and manageable makes sense, he says:
“Concentrate on growing the food you enjoy, and not trying to grow so much that you can’t maintain a neat and tidy plot.
Take note
Sow your seeds at the right time for stronger plants and better crops.
Image source: Grow Like Grandad
Do always take note of the weather says Matt of Grow Like Grandad – it will catch out the hasty gardener:
“Don’t be in a hurry to sow seeds early or plant out tender crops, you’ll only end up doing the same job twice.
A sure-fire way to expand your gardening knowledge is to make a note of all the interesting plants you come across while you’re out and about says Sally of Sally’s Garden Blog: “I always keep a gardening notebook and pen to write down any interesting plant I come across and a camera to remind myself of great plants.”
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Part fill heavy pots with polystyrene to make them easier to move.
Image source: sattahipbeach
If you’re growing in large pots in an urban garden or on a balcony, Ellen of Ellen Mary Gardening says you can make them much easier to move about by half filling them with packing peanuts before planting:
“It’s a great way to recycle packaging and lessen waste and all you need to do is place some landscape fabric on top, then your soil and plant up.
Meanwhile, Mal of Mal’s Edinburgh Allotment has a great tip for reducing waste. He says: “Use writable tape to transform single use plastic labels into multiple use plastic labels.”
Got an old plastic striplight cover? Rachel at The Good Life Ain’t Easy’s ingenious tip is to use it as an outdoor propagator to get your seeds to germinate. Hers “worked like mini greenhouses warming up the soil” – what a great idea.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our contributors’ fab gardening tips; if you have any of your own to add, please leave us a message on our Facebook page. In the meantime, we’ll leave you with this little pearl of wisdom from Thomas at Thomas Stone Horticultural Services:
“Take 15 minutes to enjoy your garden; sit down and relax in it and enjoy your hard work.
And that’s perhaps the most important tip of all…
by Mark Delaney | Jun 8, 2018 | Blogs we love, Gardening Posts, Gardening Tips, Vegetables
Keep your veg plot brimming over with delicious produce with these handy tips!
Image: Steffi Pereira
From one man who likes his veg Tudor style to another who loves to grow Tomatillos, and on to other green fingered folk with handy hints to share, here we bring you awesome veg growing tips from people in the know – veg gardeners and bloggers from across the country.
Choosing
Be bold and grow unusual crops like tomatillos for a tasty addition to your table.
Image: AN NGUYEN
A man who knows what he likes to put on the end of his fork, Matt of Grow like Grandad says there’s no point growing crops you and your family don’t eat. It’s a view Dawn of Being Self Sufficient in Wales shares. She says: “There’s no point growing cauliflower if you hate the stuff.” Her solution is to write up a list of everything your family does eat, and stick to that for your veg sowing selections.
If you fancy being a bit more adventurous, another Matt, this time from Modern Veg Plot, says: why stick to veg you can buy at the supermarket when there are so many tasty alternatives to try?
“There are absolutely loads of unusual, interesting and incredibly tasty crops that are dead easy to grow at home such as Achocha, Cucamelons, Oca, Yacon, Tomatillos, Salsify, Kiwano and Tiger Nuts.
Or look for veg that keeps on giving, says Anni of Anni’s Veggies. She says perennials are the way to go:
“Gracing the garden for several years or more at a time perennial vegetables are the ultimate in easy gardening.
Anni recommends kales like ‘Daubenton’s’ and ‘Taunton Deane’, tree and Welsh onions, and an old favourite from Tudor times: Skirret. A root with a sweet start and a peppery parsnippy finish, skirret roots are long and thin with “mature plants producing new baby plants around the base of the main stem allowing the gardener to easily propagate more stock.”
Sowing
When sowing your seeds, make sure to avoid gluts by careful planning.
Image: Audrius Merfeldas
“Work with nature, not against it,” says Hayley of Hayley’s Lottie Haven. She gets two crops from her sunniest spots by sowing earlier there than elsewhere on her plot, and gives shade-loving plants a helping hand by growing them in the shadow of taller plants:
“I plant my lettuces and beetroot in the shadow of my tall plants such as sweetcorn and beans. Everything should work in harmony
That’s something with which perennial-loving Anni agrees. She says skirret produces flowers pretty enough to grace a border, just one reason why she sows perennial veg in “mixed ‘polycultures’ with other beneficial plants which can fix nitrogen and perform other vital functions in the garden.”
Whatever you choose to sow, avoid gluts by sowing less, but more frequently. That’s what Richard of Sharpen Your Spades does: “I sow short rows of things like radish, beetroot and carrots every few weeks.”
Growing
How many courgette plants do you really need?
Image: elesi
Once you’ve thinned out your carrots, “earth them up a bit,” says Lou Nicholls, head gardener at Ulting Wicks. It’s a trick her grandad taught her:
“First it makes it more difficult for carrot root fly to get at them and secondly, it prevents the tops from turning green as it stops the sunlight from reaching them.”
Make the most of your perennial veg by using existing stock to create more says Anni of Anni’s Veggies. She goes for Taunton Deane kale because it “has a very branching habit and cuttings taken from young side shoots are easily rooted to form new plants.” She also sticks to harvesting the leaves of her Welsh onions so that the bulbs can increase in number.
“Don’t forget to collect the seeds from this year’s plants. Anni says: “seed can be saved to sow for more plants next year.
If you’ve got some growing tips to share, we’d love to hear from you. Just hop over to our Facebook page and drop us a line. In the meantime, we’ll leave you with our favourite tip from Matt of Grow Like Grandad: “Despite your spring sowing enthusiasm, you only need two courgette plants…” Wise words, indeed.
by Nic Wilson | May 24, 2018 | Gardening Posts
This ornamental garden consists of flowers and leafy vegetables.
Image: Arjuna Kodisinghe
Picking your own fruit, vegetables and herbs is one of the highlights of the gardening year, but you don’t have to turn your garden into an allotment in order to grow and harvest your own food. There are many ways to grow crops within an ornamental framework, so that your garden – whatever its size – can be a beautiful and productive space.
Add An Edible Hedge
Rosemary hedges can be left natural or kept low and trimmed neatly.
Image source: Shutterstock
Native edible hedges create valuable habitats for wildlife and provide a range of crops like cherry plums, hazelnuts, sloes, elderberries and rosehips. Even if you don’t have room for a large hedge you can try edging beds and borders with step-over apple trees which will create low boundaries and provide fruit within the first few years.
Rosemary and lavender can be used as edible hedging to give definition to different areas of the garden. My narrow front garden is trisected by a rosemary hedge (Rosmarinus officinalis) to create three distinct gravel planting areas. In the winter the hedge provides evergreen structure and during the summer months, perennials fill the space and the hedge all but disappears beneath a colourful meadow. We use the rosemary leaves in soups, stews, on the barbecue and to garnish homemade chips.
If you like the idea of a low edible hedge with a box-like appearance, you could try growing a myrtle relative – the Chilean guava (Ugni molinae). This evergreen shrub likes a sheltered spot in acid soil and is hardy down to around -10°C . It has small dark green leaves which develop a deep red autumn colour and has deliciously fragrant white bell flowers in summer, followed by small red berries. Not only are the berries one of the tastiest fruits in our garden (they were Queen Victoria’s favourite fruit), they also ripen in October offering fresh flavour at a time when all the other fruit has passed into winter hibernation.
Plant Attractive Crops in Containers
A row of contemporary pots planted with cavolo nero would make a striking statement.
Image source: Ruud Morijn Photographer
We tend to focus on the productivity and taste of our fruit and vegetables, but many also have ornamental flowers and foliage which can add beauty to a garden. Blueberries thrive in pots and if your soil is alkaline like mine, growing blueberries in containers is a practical way to grow this acid-loving shrub. In addition to their delicious, healthy fruits, blueberries have delicate white flowers in late spring and the foliage turns a rich red in autumn, meaning this is a plant which combines beauty and utility throughout the seasons.
Colourful vegetables like Swiss chard ‘Bright Lights’, purple kohl rabi ‘Kolibri’ and cavolo nero will grow well in containers – you can grow one type repeated in individual contemporary pots for the minimalist look or add them all to one large pot with an underplanting of thyme or edible annual flowers, for a more cottage garden effect.
Grow Edible Annual Flowers
Most annuals are easy to grow and fit well into small spaces in borders, containers and vegetable beds. Nothing looks and tastes better on hot summer days than a fresh salad decorated with edible petals. One of our favourite edible flowers is the nasturtium with its peppery leaves and seed pods which we pickle as an alternative to capers. We grew Nasturtium majus ‘Cream Troika’ last year alongside tumbling tomatoes in hanging baskets – the buttery yellow flowers with red centres trailed lazily over the edges, lasting all through the summer.
English marigold (Calendula officinale) is another easy annual. The flowers range from the vivid orange and yellow ‘Power Daisy Orange/Yellow’ to the muted tones of two of my favourite varieties – ‘Snow Princess’ and ‘Sherbert Fizz’. The petals look appealing in salads, adding a light peppery flavour. Calendula readily self-seeds, so not only will you have edible flowers in the future, but each year brings different colours and shades as the plants readily cross-pollinate.
Disclaimer
The author and publisher take no responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Not everyone reacts positively to all edible plants or other plant uses. Seek advice from a professional before using a plant for culinary or medicinal uses.
We hope this article has inspired your ornamental-edible planting scheme. If you’re keen to discover more information and advice on growing blueberries, visit our helpful hub page. And if you like the idea of using brightly-coloured stems of chard to bring your borders to life, head to our dedicated page of beetroot and chard-growing information.
Nic Wilson is a writer, garden designer and Garden Media Guilds Awards nominee (Beth Chatto Environmental Award, 2019). She enjoys growing flowers and unusual fruit, vegetables and herbs, and loves to encourage nature into the garden. She blogs at www.dogwooddays.net, and Guardian Country Diarist based in North Hertfordshire.
She works for BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and her writing has featured in anthologies, journals and magazines including The English Garden, The Garden (RHS Magazine), BBC Wildlife Magazine and the John Clare Society Journal.
by Mark Delaney | May 22, 2018 | Blogs we love, Gardening Posts, Gardening Tips
Look after your soil and reap good quality produce.
Image source: LedyX
Take care of your soil as though your yield depends on it – because it does. To help you keep your garden hale and hearty, here we bring you some of our favourite gardening bloggers’ tips for keeping your soil in top condition. From no-dig methods to improving your soil Victorian style, here’s how to look after the ground you grow in.
Feed your soil
Good old-fashioned manure offers superb benefits to your crops
Image: Peter Titmuss
“Always feed your plants,” says Michael of Mr Plant Geek, a sentiment shared by Dawn of Being Self-Sufficient in Wales who puts it beautifully:
“Feed the soil and the soil will feed you.
But where do you start? With a good fertiliser, says Jim of Jim’s allotment – and what better way to feed your soil than to dig in some good old fashioned manure. Jim’s grandad used it, and Jim swears by it: “It’s free (even if it does require a little bit of work) and the benefits to your crops are superb.”
Or do as Belinda of Plot 7 Marsh Lane does, and make your own compost. She finds the process very satisfying, just “Layer different types of waste (vegetable waste, cardboard, straw, manure) and make sure you keep mixing it up.” Belinda’s top tip is to water your compost heap if it looks dry, or the ants will move in.
Know your soil
Knowing your soil well gives you the tools to get your patch to thrive
Image: Harun Ozmen
Getting the best results from your garden means taking the time to understand your soil says Milli of Crofter’s Cottage. Is it heavy or light? How well does it drain? What’s its pH level? How much sun does it get? Find the answers to these questions and Milli says, “you’ll have the tools to know what will thrive on your patch of land.” From there, it’s just a case of applying Beth Chatto’s Mantra:
“The right plant for the right place
But what if your soil’s just too dry an environment for plants to thrive? Try the Victorian method of puddling in, says Thomas of Thomas Stone. When you’re planting your seedlings, simply “dig the hole and fill with a mix of water and liquid seaweed, and then plant directly into the hole and back-fill while it is still filled with water.”
An unusual suggestion comes courtesy of John of Allotment Garden, who recommends adding salt to your onion beds. He says it’s an “odd tip that does work well, given to me by the much missed Lawrence D Hills who founded the HDRA which became Garden Organic.”
Fancy giving it a go? Add 60g of salt per square metre of soil, and rotate your beds each year so the salt doesn’t damage the ground.
Fertilise no-dig style
Some swear by the soil found in molehills
Image: cagi
Steph at no-dig home gets great results from her allotment. After ten years of no-dig gardening, you can believe her when she says “No dig means healthy soil, far fewer weeds, much less work, and abundant harvests.”
“Not disturbing the soil means that the natural diversity remains intact, the soil flora and fauna flourish, and so do all of my fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers!
To keep her soil in great condition, Steph spreads about 2 cm of well-rotted manure over the surface of her beds each year, and plants directly into it. As the worms and other beasties draw the material into the soil, it nourishes it the natural way.
Alternatively, why not let the moles do the digging? Rosie at Leavesnbloom swears by the crumbly, weed and seed free earth she gathers from molehills. She says: “I grow anemone de caen corms for my flower photography. Once I’ve steeped the anemone corms overnight in water I plant them in troughs full of as much mole soil that I can find.”
Do you have any soil conditioning tips you’d like to share with us? We’re always interested to hear from our readers, so please do drop us a line by visiting our Facebook page and leaving us a message.
by Graham Ward | Aug 16, 2017 | Gardening Posts, Your Stories
So this week is National Allotment week, it brings back happy memories of my first allotment that we decided would be a wonderful idea ( myself and my partner at the time), we would be self sufficient in vegetables and it would be such fun to do!
Oh my goodness…..
We were really lucky as some local allotments out where I live in (very) rural Suffolk hadn’t been used for years and so were quickly available. In fact, we were told we could have two! So I quickly drove to see the local chap who ran the allotments and handed over my £10 for the year for both ( I know, how cheap was that!) and we were on our way.
Humming the tune to “The Good Life” we went down, armed with spades, hoes and various tools that we thought we’d need, we had seen the allotments from the footpath but never actually set foot on them until now. It turned out that a more suitable variety of tools would have been dynamite, a JCB and a flame thrower! Mare’s tail was everywhere, bindweed, fat hen towering over our heads, nettles galore and brambles that were actually deliberately trying to trip us at every opportunity. However – my partner and I were determined to make a start, and we did just that, slashing digging raking all commenced in earnest! Followed by bonfires and flasks of tea, rolls, oh, and blisters, hot baths and plasters too.
It was incredibly worth it though, after clearing the worst, we hired a huge tiller and we turned over the whole site, raked and removed root clumps, tilled again and repeated over and over for an entire weekend until we actually had a useable area.
We couldn’t wait to plant all sorts, starting with onion sets brassicas, lots of spuds and even butternut squashes, peas, beans and a pumpkin that we’d been growing in the greenhouse back at home.
I won’t say it was easy, but my goodness it was rewarding, being able to go down to the allotment after work, a flask of tea and some snacks and do some gardening was good for the soul, being able to sit and look over the river in the distance after doing a couple of hours’ weeding felt like an accomplishment and eating the fruits of our labours (literally) was the best feeling in the world. That was usually after giving away loads of fresh veg to our neighbours too! Who knew that 15 years later, I’d be lucky enough to work at Thompson & Morgan and be reminded today of those amazing days.
What were your first experiences of allotmenteering ? I’d love to hear them, feel free to share in the comments below.
All the best
Graham
I’ve been gardening for as long as I can remember, my first earliest memory being planting seeds in my Grandfather’s prestige flower bed and having a prize lettuce growing there, which he proudly left to show everyone.
Since then, gaining knowledge and experience from both my Grandfather and my Father, I’ve continued to garden, both as a hobby and later on as a professional gardener and landscaper for 12 years. I love all aspects of it, from the design and build, to the planting out of summer borders with plants you’ve either grown from seed or raised from plugs. Unusual varieties always catch my eye and I’m keen to try growing them, even if sometimes it means learning from my mistakes.
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